The Marienkapelle is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church located at the ''Unterer Markt'' (market square) of the town of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. It was built in the

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

in the 14th century. Despite its large size, it is a chapel by status, as it does not have a parish. Today it is administered by the united parishes of the Würzburg Cathedral and the '. The chapel was heavily damaged by the Bombing of Würzburg in World War II and its interior was destroyed by flames. It was rebuilt in the 1950s and re-consecrated in 1962. Its two best known works of art, the sculptures of ''Adam'' and ''Eve'' by

Tilman Riemenschneider Tilman Riemenschneider (c. 1460 – 7 July 1531) was a German sculptor and woodcarver active in Würzburg from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between late Gothic and Renaissance, a master i ...

, are today located in the ''Mainfränkisches Museum'' and have been replaced ''in-situ'' by copies. The chapel is also the place of burial of noted Baroque architect

Balthasar Neumann Johann Balthasar Neumann (; 27 January 1687 (?) – 19 August 1753), usually known as Balthasar Neumann, was a German architect and military artillery engineer who developed a refined brand of Baroque architecture, fusing Austrian, Bohemian, Ita ...

History

Würzburg Marienkapelle Südportal mit Adam und Eva

Marienkapelle, Würzburg, Nave 20140929 1

On 21 April 1349 the

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

located at this site was destroyed in the course of a

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

. There are conflicting reports about any (wooden) structures that were erected immediately after that and whether a pilgrimage was established at the site. It is also not known whether building a chapel dedicated to Mary there was intended as atonement for the murder of the local Jews or as atonement for having earlier tolerated the presence of ''

Christ-killers Jewish deicide is the notion that the Jews as a people were Collective responsibility, collectively responsible for Crucifixion of Jesus, the killing of Jesus. A Biblical justification for the charge of Jewish deicide is derived from Matthew 27:2 ...

''. Construction of the current church started under

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in 1377. It is not certain at what point in time the chapel was finished. The choir was reportedly consecrated in 1392. Burials at the site took place as early as 1411/2. By 1441 it must have been largely completed, as Bishop , driven from the cathedral, used it as his church. That same year construction started on the tower, overseen by . The tower roof was added in 1479. The Marienkapelle was no parish church, but records of its early history are sketchy. In 1393 the ', a knightly society or order, claimed the chapel. In 1412, the order made a

Benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

donation for the chapel and as late as the 17th century the chapel was referred to as a ''Ritter-Capelle'' (knights' chapel), e.g. in a drawing of the town by Matthäus Merian from 1648. However, there is also evidence that the Marienkapelle was a municipal chapel, under the control of the town council (or ''Rat''). In 1415, the caretakers swore to be accountable to the council as well as to the bishop. Friedeberger was hired in 1441 by the town council and after 1446 this institution also appointed the caretakers. After 1478 the caretakers received a council wage. In 1452, the council decided that a Mass would be held here for each council member who died. At least from the mid-16th century, the council used the Marienkapelle as its chapel for formal occasions, foregoing use of the chapel inside the town hall, ''SS. Felix und Adauctus''. In 1559 the ''Fürspänger'' tried in vain to stop the custom that council members were buried inside the chapel. Burial at this place seemed to have remained an honor bestowed by the Würzburg council on favored people, such as celebrated architect

, who was buried there following his death in 1753 (in an unmarked grave). In the 1490s, the council asked Tilman Riemenschneider and his workshop to add sculptures of the

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

to the interior columns. These were removed to a museum and to the cathedral in the mid-19th century. 19th-century copies replaced them. The original Riemenschneider statues St. Dorothea and St. Magaretha flanking the choir, however, were destroyed in 1945. Later construction included 1556-8 work on the tower. The interior west gallery likely dates from 1616. In the early 18th century the roofs were renovated and the tower was topped by a Madonna, following the destruction of the original tower roof by lightning in 1711. A Baroque tower top was added by Josef Greising in 1719. Jakob van der Auwera designed the Madonna sculpture for the roof-top (1713) that was then made by goldsmith Martin Nötzel from copper and covered in gold (made from 400 gold ducats). In 1843-53 a major restoration was conducted by

Andreas Halbig Andreas Halbig (24 April 1807, Donnersdorf – 3 May 1869, Penzing, Vienna), was a German sculptor, and brother to sculptor Johann Halbig. Halbig studied under Konrad Eberhard in Munich, provided work for Bavarian churches and was responsible ...

. This work included changes to the western façade and added the lower gallery and the rose window. In 1856-7, the Gothic Revival spire was added. At that time the gold cover on the Madonna was also restored. US-Luftbild 1945 Würzburg Domstr

The chapel was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in March 1945. Following earlier air raids, the church had been used to store furniture which now fueled the fire. The interior and the rafters were completely destroyed by fire. Later fighting added damage from artillery and aircraft fire. The Marienkapelle was rebuilt in 1948-61 and re-consecrated in 1962. A major renovation took place in 1996-2003.

Description

The chapel is a mixture between a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

and a hall church that was popular in the late-Gothic period. It has three aisles and five

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

. The middle aisle is only slightly higher than the side aisles. The roof rests on octagonal pillars. The eastern

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

extends three bays. The proportions are somewhat skewed towards the vertical: on a plan of 26.5 meters by 18 meters the nave rises 21.5 meters in the center, 20 meters in the side aisles. The church features three notable Gothic portals. The southern portal (''Brautpforte'') from 1430, is flanked by the sculptures of ''Adam'' and ''Eve''. The tympanum shows the

Coronation of the Virgin The Coronation of the Virgin or Coronation of Mary is a subject in Christian art, especially popular in Italy in the 13th to 15th centuries, but continuing in popularity until the 18th century and beyond. Christ, sometimes accompanied by God th ...

, with the Saints Barbara and Katharina. The western portal (''Goldene Pforte''), made after 1430, has a tympanum with the

Last Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

. The central pillar formerly held a stone Madonna (''Schöne Madonna'', ca. 1441) that is today located inside the church (replaced by a copy in its original setting). Finally, the northern portal from the early 15th century shows the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

. The Riemenschneider figures of ''Adam'' and ''Eve'' (delivered in 1493) were removed to the museum in 1894 (then the ''Luitpoldmuseum''). Most of the movable interior decoration was replaced in the

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

period in the 19th century and was destroyed in 1945. The current high altar (early 16th century) was brought here after the war from Neumünster; its previous provenance is not completely clear. Although most of the sepulchral art was destroyed by the fire of 1945, the interior still features a number of tombs and epitaphs such as the epitaph for Jörg Schrimpf (d. 1556) by Peter Dell der Jüngere and the epitaph for Anna Külwein (d. 1563). Most notable is the grave of Konrad von Schaumburg (d. 1499) by Tilman Riemenschneider. This was ordered in 1500 and was originally colored, the armor was golden. This sculpture was also heavily damaged by fire in 1945 and restored after the war. There was no contemporary monument for Balthasar Neumann, a key contributor to the design of Würzburg Residence, who was buried at the second column of the southern aisle. In the 1950s a bronze memorial plaque was added to commemorate him. The top of the gold-covered Madonna crowning the tower rises 72 meters above the market square. Although it had survived the bombing of 16 March 1945 unharmed, it was subsequently damaged by repeated strafing from Allied aircraft during the fighting in the city. Post-war it was painstakingly reconstructed. Together with the globe at its feet, the statue measures 5.75 meters in height and weighs around 1,200 kg.

References

External links

''Adam'' and ''Eve'' at the website of the ''Mainfränkisches Museum''

Marienkapelle at the website of the Würzburg diocese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marienkapelle, Wurzburg Roman Catholic churches in Würzburg Gothic architecture in Germany

History

Description

References

Further reading

External links